Daytona Beach in Volusia County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Bethune-Cookman University

640 Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard

— Black Heritage Trail —

Bethune-Cookman University Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Stephen Thomas White, January 6, 2026

1. Bethune-Cookman University Marker

Inscription. Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune moved to Daytona Beach to open a school for the children of poor Black laborers of the Florida East Coast Railroad. She found a rundown building and persuaded the owner to accept $1.50 as a down payment for the $11 per month rent. Groceries were donated from generous neighbors. Of that time, she later wrote, "I haunted the city dump and the trash piles behind hotels, retrieving discarded oven and kitchen ware, cracked dishes, broken chairs, pieces of old lumber. Everything was scoured and mended." Andrea Broadwater; Mary McLeod Bethune: Educator and Activist (Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, Inc., 2003), 37. bid., 52.

In October 1904, the Daytona Educational and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls opened with five students (ages 8-12) who paid 50 cents a week for tuition.

Mrs. Bethune impressed several wealthy white vacationers and winter residents with her strong will, spirit of sacrifice and ambitions for the school. The school's early benefactors and/or board members included oil baron John D. Rockefeller, James N. Gamble (Procter & Gamble), sewing machine innovator Thomas H. White, Ransom Eli Olds (of Oldsmobile and REO Motor Company) and author Harrison Rhodes.

In 1923, this school merged with the all-male Cookman Institute of Jacksonville, Florida, and became accredited in 1931, changing the name officially to Bethune-Cookman College. At that time, Bethune became the first Black woman to serve as a college president and it was one of a few institutions below the Mason-Dixon Line where Blacks could receive education beyond a high school diploma. Now a fully accredited university, the school enrolls over 3,000 students from more than 20 countries.

Timeline
1875 Born in Mayesville, SC
1904 Founded the Daytona Normal & Industrial Institute for Girls

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1923 Cookman Institute merger
1931 Became Bethune-Cookman College - Dr. Bethune President
1949 Dr. Bethune Retired
1955 Dr. Bethune died in her home on Campus
1958 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers commencement address
1963 Howard Thurman delivers commencement address
2007 Becomes Bethune-Cookman University

To learn more about the Black Heritage Trail and additional locations, visit daytonabeach.gov/blackheritagetrail

Soul Of A Community/Light Of A Nation

Erected by City of Daytona Beach and the Department of State, Division of Historical Resources.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Education. A significant historical month for this entry is October 1904.

Location. 29° 12.703′ N, 81° 1.919′ W. Marker is in Daytona Beach, Florida, in Volusia County. It is on Dr Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard 0.1 miles east of North Lincoln Street, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 640 Dr Mary McLeod Bethune Blvd, Daytona Beach FL 32114, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker

Photographed by Stephen Thomas White, January 6, 2026

2. Bethune-Cookman University Marker

is in First Coast.

It is also in the American South

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Mary McLeod Bethune Historic Home (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Francis R. Keyser (about 500 feet away); Dr. Mary Bethune (about 500 feet away); Home of Mary McLeod Bethune (about 700 feet away); The Home of Mr. Harold V. Lucas, Sr. (approx. 0.2 miles away); Daisy Stocking Park (approx. 0.2 miles away); Campbell Hotel (approx. ¼ mile away); Bonner Elementary (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Daytona Beach.

Also see . . . Bethune-Cookman University. (Submitted on September 15, 2026, by Stephen Thomas White of Norfolk, Virginia.)

Credits. This page was last revised on September 16, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 15, 2026, by Stephen Thomas White of Norfolk, Virginia. This page has been viewed 10 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 15, 2026, by Stephen Thomas White of Norfolk, Virginia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.